Lines of Inquiry
by firesideteller
Summary: A woman with a key to Lauren's past returns.  Now complete.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:**Lines of Inquiry  
**Author:** firesideteller  
**Fandom:** Lost Girl  
**Pairing:** Bo/Lauren  
**Rating:** T  
**Disclaimer:** The Lost Girl series is owned by Bo Series, Inc. I am only borrowing the characters and world of the show to do some storytelling for fun. No copyright infringement intended.  
**Summary:** A woman with a key to Lauren's past returns.

**Note:** Post Season 1 finale, "Blood Lines." (Spoilers for all of Season 1.)

**Part 1**

"How can you be sure it wasn't Dark Fae?"

"Bo." The voice on the other end of the phone thundered lowly in its usual growl. "We have no reason to think that. Hale and I will check it out, but this looks like a routine kill. I've told you before: Humans do this all the time. They murder each other for no reason."

Bo looked at Kenzi, who was hunched over a bowl of Toastie Bun Buns chewing. The Fae woman sighed, exasperated. "All right. Well. Let me know if you find anything that might help us with the case. Thanks, Dyson." She clicked the End Call button on her phone and put it in her pocket. Kenzi looked up from her bowl of cereal and made a face.

"Is wolf-man still being the world's biggest A-hole? I mean, what the hell? Shouldn't he only get bitchy when there's a full moon or something?"

Bo smiled and walked over to hug her stubborn sidekick. It was hard to believe there was a time she had nearly rejected Kenzi's offer to be her number two. She wouldn't want to walk into any situation without the other woman now.

"I don't know, Kenz," she said, sighing again. "After I fought my mom, I thought things would be better between us. But it's like nothing's changed, even though we don't have any more secrets."

Kenzi looked disapprovingly at her breakfast, playing with her spoon. "Yeah. Well. If you ask me, D needs to tone down the melodrama and start acting like a fucking good guy again. Could he have _beeen_ any more of a tool to us just now?" she asked, mimicking his heavy Canadian accent.

Bo's face relaxed into a half-smile, then tightened again as she shifted her focus back to the case. "It doesn't matter. What matters is he didn't have any information that might help us." Her eyes narrowed in concentration as she pieced together the events of the last twenty-four hours. "I just don't get it. A woman calls us to help her find her brother, the next day he turns up dead, and she doesn't want to know who killed him?"

"What is there to say, baby? Sometimes it's better not to know."

"Not when you're a private investigator- -"

"- -who currently does not have a client," Kenzi finished for her, pointing in Bo's direction for emphasis. "That's our cue to drop it and go sniffing for money in somebody else's pocket. Not. Our. Problem," she declared, dropping her spoon into her now-empty bowl with a clatter. She picked up the bowl and brought it over to the sink. "Meanwhile, look at me doing the dishes. I mean seriously. Who is your favorite roomie _ever_?"

Bo couldn't help but laugh as Kenzi saluted and twirled around the counter before plopping onto the couch nearby to switch on the TV. Bo took a deep breath.

Sometimes it was hard to remember that, of the two of them, Kenzi was the human. The younger woman always dealt with emotions with steady confidence, even though she wasn't the one with supernatural powers. When they found themselves in dangerous situations, Bo protected Kenzi, knowing she was physically vulnerable to the Fae thugs they faced. But when danger clouded Bo's heart, it was Kenzi who guarded Bo.

"So what's on the schedule for today?" Kenzi called from the couch, picking up one of the video game controllers from the coffee table. "Wanna save the world from robot hookers?"

"Can't," Bo answered, looking around for her black leather jacket. "I'm going to see Lauren at the lab." Her hands rose to her hips when she saw Kenzi raise an eyebrow toward the TV. Bo gave her a face. "I'm going for a check-up. It's not like that."

"Mmm hmm," Kenzi murmured, glancing at a decidedly uncertain-looking Bo. "Call it what you want, your supernatural sexiness, but I think Dr. Lauren is dying to give you a different kind of injection again, if you know what I mean. Ew." She rolled her eyes and went back to mashing buttons on the game controller.

"I don't know how she feels about me right now," Bo admitted aloud, looking past Kenzi to the couch where Lauren had kissed her for the first time. Memories from that day momentarily flooded her senses: the fabric of Lauren's shirt, the timidity of her hands, the taste of her mouth. Lauren had kissed her again a few days ago, before Bo went off to face her mother and prevent a war. But how would Lauren feel when she wasn't all souped-up on the adrenaline of that situation?

Before the meeting of the High Elders was bombed and Bo revealed that her mom was behind that plot, Lauren had asked Bo for a chance to explain herself. Was Lauren planning to let her down easy, or bring them closer with that talk? There was only one way to find out.

"I'll call you later, Kenz," the Fae said as she grabbed her jacket and headed toward the door.

"Okay. Good luck with the doc."


	2. Chapter 2

**Part 2**

"What're you doing, calling me at the station?" Detective Hale asked, looking around. He pulled the receiver of his desk phone closer so he could talk more quietly. "I know it's after hours, but still."

The caller hesitated.

"Look. Write this down. 6-4-7 2-8-6 9-5-9-7. That's my new cell. Call me at that number in twenty minutes. You're some place safe where you can wait? Okay."

Hale hung up and grabbed his coat off the back of his chair. He looked up as Dyson walked back into the office before scooping up his fedora from the desk. "Hey man, I'm headed head out for the night."

"Yeah? What's her name?" Dyson asked without looking at him, sizing up the stack of papers next to his computer.

"Ahhh, you know me," the siren quipped. "Just another girl who can't wait for me to hum my sweet song in her ear."

"Well, I need your draft of the report on the Jackson murder by tomorrow afternoon." Dyson lifted his head and looked the other Fae in the eye. "You seem to be okay with keeping me waiting."

"_You_ don't have gorgeous thighs and a thing for my man-chest," Hale responded with a toothy grin. "And even if you did, that beard looks a little scratchy." He waited for Dyson to laugh, but the other cop remained silent. Dyson just turned back to his desk. "Alright. I'll have it for you tomorrow." Hale paused as he put on his hat, looking over at Dyson, who was clearly settling in for a long night of paperwork. "You sure you're okay, man? You've been staying nights for the past week, ever since the shit with Bo's mom went down." He thought he saw his partner's jaw stiffen at the mention of Bo's name, but otherwise Dyson showed no sign he had heard what the siren had said. Hale waited.

"I'm fine. Go."

"Alright," the Siren said putting up his hands. "Don't go all mad-dog on me. You know how to reach me if you need anything. And hey." He pointed his finger at Dyson. "You know I'm never too busy to help out my boy."

"Thanks."

"All right. I'll see you."

"See you."

Outside, Hale checked his watch. Seventeen minutes.

Good, he thought. Just enough time to get someplace he could talk.


	3. Chapter 3

**Part 3**

Lauren looked again at the petri dish under her microscope, hoping for a better result than yesterday. The cells on the treatment plate still weren't re-generating. Shit. She took a pen out of her pocket and made some notes in the log lying next to her, then pushed them both away in dismay.

She had promised The Ash and the other surviving High Elders treatments for the injuries they had sustained in the suicide bombing, but her ideas so far were not succeeding. After many days of research and surgery, The Ash could still speak only a few words at a time without running out of breath due to tissue damage. Although he was never talkative to begin with, the leader of The Light Fae needed to have the option of uttering more than one or two sentences at a time. As long as the leader of the Light had no voice, their side had no real voice in the counties. Restoration of the balance of power was dependent on The Ash's healing. And that was up to Lauren.

"Some doctor," the Fae Labs scientist cursed to herself as her concentration withered. She leaned heavily on both arms, hovering over the table, and blew a strand of blonde hair out of her face. As a physician, her life was an endless series of opportunities to care for other people. But what about her own healing? Frustrated, Lauren's thoughts drifted before she could stop them.

Lauren could talk, but she was rarely invited to. After years of working for the Fae, she had gotten used to keeping her mouth shut.

What a bitter irony, she thought. Historically, it was the desire of most slaves to be treated like humans. As ward of The Ash, however, being treated like a human could mean terrible things: isolation, torture, or death. So, Lauren had learned to guard her demeanor carefully lest she express her tell-tale human emotions. She had once been a wildly animated person, feeling everything, hungry for new experiences; but not in years. At times, she felt her curiosity and fascination with Fae science were the sole remnants of her true self.

At least, until recently. Until Bo.

Lauren's pulse sped up as she remembered how she had responded to Bo the first time she saw her. She hadn't expected the surge of emotion she felt when she came face-to-face with the newly-discovered Fae. What was it about the Bo that had intrigued her so much then, and still did?

Over the past week, Lauren had poured endlessly over this question to no avail. She'd thought about it for hours, but her mind was as devoid of answers about her feelings for Bo as the petri dish beside her was about cures for The Ash. Lauren didn't like universal forces that operated without explanation.

She tried not to think about what might be keeping Bo from coming to see her. She had heard that Aife had been defeated, so she knew Bo was safe. As a relatively untrained Fae, the fight would have taken a lot out of Bo, Lauren reasoned, and she guessed that Bo had needed healing in the aftermath. Since Bo hadn't come to the lab for that, she could guess where the succubus had gone to tend to her wounds.

She wished Bo would come to her for healing instead. After all, she was a doctor.

"Enough," Lauren said to herself, turning back to her research. Bo would come to see her eventually. She had made Lauren a promise. Besides, as Bo had said to her recently: There was no rush, right? Taking things slow for now would be best. For everyone.

"Right," Lauren declared to herself and the empty lab. Back to work. She smoothed out her lab coat and put her pen back in her pocket. If she was aware of how lonesome her voice sounded ringing off of the linoleum floor and metal instruments around her, she didn't allow herself to linger on it.

Returning from her thoughts to the microscope in front of her, Lauren jumped when she heard the doors to the lab open unexpectedly. She spun around and her eyes soaked in the sight of the figure in front of her. Bo.

"Sorry," Bo said, stopping just inside the doorway. "I didn't mean to scare you."

Lauren's skin felt hot as she stared, wide-eyed, at the breathtaking brunette in front of her. Her pulse accelerated further when she remembered what she had just been thinking about the Fae woman. Could succubi detect thoughts as well as auras? Lauren didn't think so, but all of the sudden she wasn't sure. With Bo looking at her like that, she couldn't remember a damn thing she had ever read about Fae lore. Lauren smiled shyly, trying to cover for her surprise. "It's fine," she said. "I was just concentrating."

Bo studied the blonde doctor closely, her interest piqued. "I can see that." She paused, noticing the weariness in Lauren's face. "Looks like you're working hard."

Lauren smiled wearily.

Bo studied Lauren for a moment, allowing her eyes to scan up and down the scientist's body. Acknowledging Lauren's skittishness, Bo tilted her head in concern. Lauren was usually the picture of collectedness. Judging by the paleness of the blonde's skin and the redness of her eyes, it looked like she hadn't slept in a day or more. The energy Bo sensed from her was uneven, emanating strongly and then fading, cycling over and over. She wasn't sure what that meant.

Breaking into Bo's thoughts, Lauren invited the succubus sit down. "Let's see how you are," she suggested, meeting Bo's eyes. She recognized the familiar jolt of energy that accompanied a direct glance from Bo as it coursed through her from head to foot. God damn it, Lauren thought. She was too tired to tone down her body's responses to the disarmingly attractive woman in front of her. She gestured for the succubus to sit in the exam chair in the middle of the room. "Please."

Bo nodded and sat down, watching as the doctor pulled out a fresh sheet of paper. She smiled when Lauren attached it to a clipboard and starting scribbling some notes on it.

"You look good," Lauren said, looking up at Bo. She bit her lip when Bo blinked at her, feeling an upward tug at the corners of her mouth. A smile crept across the succubus' lips as Lauren recovered. Exhaling, Lauren looked down the exam sheet. "I mean, you look well."

"I knew what you meant," Bo said, even though she really didn't. There was a light flashing in Lauren's eyes as they were talking that Bo had never seen before. Well, she had seen it- -but not since the night she and Lauren finally hooked-up at her house. Lauren's chi glowed hotter every time she stepped closer to Bo, and she seemed to be aware it, trying to keep her distance. Bo watched curiously as the scientist tucked a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and busied herself with the motions of conducting an exam, which steadied her energy flow.

Lauren could feel Bo's eyes on her as she took her stethoscope out of her pocket and put it around her neck. Her heart was pounding, but she took a step closer. Consumed by exhaustion, her usual safeguards were crumbling. There was no use in denying it; she wanted Bo. Why not tell her?

"I meant both," Lauren said assuredly. She thought briefly about reaching for Bo's hands, but stopped herself. Instead, she shoved her hands in her pockets, looking down at the floor.

Bo watched as Lauren turned slightly from side to side, studying her shoes. Lauren always did when she was nervous. Bo wondered what she was working up the courage to say, relishing in the mixture of sureness and shyness that was so irresistibly _Lauren_.

After a few seconds, Lauren collected herself and looked up. "It looks like you're…healed," she offered, trying to sound purely clinical. She flinched, hearing how she struggled with the last word of the sentence. She hoped Bo hadn't noticed. "What was the fight like?" she added quickly, trying to dissipate the unspoken question hanging between them.

"It was okay," Bo said. She studied Lauren's expression, feeling a little guilty for piling additional stress onto the clearly already overburdened doctor. Bo hadn't taken care of her healing with Dyson, which was, she knew, what Lauren was asking. She'd tried calling him when she and Kenzi got home their mission, but he was nowhere to be found. When he finally did turn, the next day, he was gruff and short with her, just like he had been on the phone this morning. So Bo decided not to ask him for help. Kenzi had helped her corner a quick human snack, and that was that. She didn't know how to explain any of that to Lauren, though, so she didn't try to.

The truth was, Lauren had a way of making Bo forget that anyone else existed, including Dyson, when she and Bo were in the same place. Even sometimes when they weren't. But Bo didn't think she could explain that to Lauren either. So didn't say anything.

Bo's quietness magnified in Lauren's heart and the doctor felt her spirits sink. What had she been thinking, kissing Bo in the middle of the lab before the brunette sprinted off to face her mom? It had been an impulse, a now-or-never move motivated by the fear that she would never see Bo again, much less have the chance to show her how she felt. So far, Bo was showing no indication that she had any feelings for Lauren. And why would she? Bo was Fae- -a succubus of all things- -and Lauren was only a human servant of The Ash. Her kiss had probably meant very little to Bo, Lauren thought, as she sidestepped to pick up a blood pressure cuff nearby. And there was still the issue of Bo's anger. Bo hadn't yet forgiven Lauren for what she believed was Lauren's betrayal.

Just get through the exam, Lauren ordered herself. Let go of your feelings until after hours, she told herself. Like always.

She was wrapping the blood pressure cuff around Bo's arm when Bo spoke.

"I wouldn't be alive to talk to anyone it if you hadn't given me the Koushang."

Lauren looked up.

"She tried to control me by absorbing my chi," Bo explained, meaning Aife, "but she couldn't because I was wearing it. If she had, that would have been the end of the fight." She paused meaningfully, looking up at Lauren. "I don't know what I would have done without your help," she admitted earnestly. "Thank you."

Lauren smiled widely, unable to steel herself against Bo's charm. A little bit of colour returned to her cheeks. "I'm glad you're safe," she said. There was no point in lying.

Lauren's hand was on the succubus' arm, and Bo wasn't sure if it was there to secure the blood pressure cuff, or because Lauren wanted to touch her. Lauren inflated the cuff on Bo's bicep and read the dial, continuing the exam.

"Your blood pressure is fairly normal considering everything you've been through the past few days. A little high maybe." She took the instrument off of Bo's arm and set it down.

Lauren put the stethoscope in her ears and reached out to lay the chestpiece against Bo's skin, laying one hand on Bo's shoulder while she listened to the other woman's heartbeat. There it was, steady and strong as always. She exhaled, feeling slightly more courageous as she listened to the sound of Bo's heart, and tried again to ask the question still burning in her mind. She took the ends of the stethoscope out of her ears. "Have you been- -hungry- -since you got back?"

Bo took a deep breath of her own. "That's…kind of why I'm here," she said, trying to sound casual. "I was hoping you could give me one of my shots, if you're still willing to do that. I'm recovering pretty well, but I need something to curb my hunger- -'take the edge off', as you would say."

Lauren felt her heart lighten as she draped the stethoscope around her neck. I would say that, she thought to herself. She was pleased that Bo could imagine how she would phrase things. It was evidence of their connection. Surely Bo felt the pull between them too?

Urged on by her emotions, Lauren looked at the succubus with an expression that was completely unguarded. She could think of other ways to help Bo heal besides giving her a shot. Maybe, she thought, she should suggest those to Bo. "I'm glad you came," she confided, taking a step closer. "I missed you."

Bo held Lauren's gaze for only a second before she had to look away. "I brought you these," she replied too fast, holding out the Koushang and key to The Ash's trophy room in her hand. Her voice sounded too loud to her own ears and she wanted to kick herself for being such a coward.

"Oh, thanks," Lauren muttered. She took the items and put them in the pocket of her lab coat where her stethoscope had been. As she picked them up, her fingertips brushed against Bo's palms, and she tried not to think about the way Bo had slid those palms down her shoulders when they had kissed in the lab.

Lauren looked at the ceiling, trying to shake off the memory. As usual, she had no idea what Bo was thinking, while she was quite certain that Bo, given her powers, had a very good idea what she was thinking about. It drove her crazy.

But Bo wasn't finished.

"The other reason I came is because- -" she looked sideways at the doctor, glancing quickly at Lauren's lips "- -I made it back. So I owe you that talk."

The tension in Lauren's expression melted at Bo's suggestion, and Bo's heart warmed as she watched the doctor's aura glowed brighter. "I keep my promises," Bo said.

"I know you do," Lauren affirmed, making eye contact with her. Bo's sense of honour was one of her most attractive qualities. When Bo said she was going to do something, she always followed through. Loyalty was everything to Lauren, and Bo had the rare combination of deep-seated loyalty and a heart big enough to stay true to her ideals.

Lauren looked at Bo's hands and thought about reaching for one of them, but stopped short, recovering her hard-fought demeanor. She kept her hands in her pockets, closing one around the Koushang Bo had just returned.

"I'll give you your shot," Lauren told Bo, "and then we'll go somewhere we can talk. Even with The Ash in recovery, it's not safe for us to speak freely here."

Bo nodded. "Okay."

"Okay," Lauren repeated, exhaling. She couldn't stop smiling, albeit somewhat uncertainly, as she walked over to a set of lab cabinets to fetch a vial, syringe, and disinfecting supplies. Nervously, she swept a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Bo was here, alive, and willing to give her a chance to explain herself. Now all Lauren had to do was muster the guts to tell her the truth.

Lauren motioned toward Bo as she filled the syringe with the serum. "Roll up your sleeve," she directed. Bo did, and Lauren gave her the shot.

Setting down the needle, Lauren applied pressure to Bo's skin, pressing a piece of gauze against her tricep with her fingertips. "It'll just take me a minute to shut down the equipment," she started to say, "and then- -"

The phone rang, cutting Lauren off.

"Hold this for me?" Lauren asked, indicating the gauze. Bo nodded and took over, bumping her fingertips awkwardly against the back of Lauren's hand as they switched places.

Lauren moved away, slowly, and Bo immediately missed the pressure of her fingertips. Oh _crap_, the Fae thought to herself, imagining how Kenzi would roll her eyes about this when Bo recounted the story to her later. She chuckled to herself, imagining the face Kenzi would make, as she watched Lauren pick up the phone.

"Dr. Lewis," Lauren answered.

Bo struggled to stifle a grin at Lauren's matter-of-fact professional voice. But her smile faded as she saw Lauren's face tense in response to whatever the person she was talking to was saying. _Oh_ _no_.

"Hale, I need you to slow down. How long ago did you talk to her?" She listened as he answered on the other end of the line. "That means she could be here any minute. I- -"

Hale said something, and Lauren hung up the phone without another word, looking suddenly fragile.

"What is it?" Bo asked, hopping down from the exam chair. The Fae Labs doctor had started shutting down the equipment in front of her. When Bo reached Lauren, she realized that the colour had drained from the doctor's face and her hands were shaking.

Lauren turned to Bo in the middle of stashing some supplies in a drawer. Her voice was low, like it was coming from a distance. "Did you drive?"

xxxx xxxx xxxx

Outside, Bo walked with Lauren toward her car. Lauren still looked shaky.

"Who were you and Hale talking about on the phone?" Bo asked. "Who's coming all of the sudden?"

The Fae Labs doctor took a breath to answer, but she was interrupted by a voice which rang softly from behind them:

"Lauren."

Bo followed Lauren's line of sight to a blue station wagon, where a woman with auburn hair and striking grey eyes stood watching them. The woman's sights were trained on the human scientist, who looked shocked.

"As stunning as ever," the stranger remarked.

Lauren froze.


	4. Chapter 4

**Part 4**

Bo looked from Lauren's face to the stranger's. Neither woman showed any sign of moving.

Reaching the end of her patience, Bo broke the silence indelicately. "Who the hell are you?" she demanded.

The redhead's gaze flicked in Bo's direction for a split second, but she didn't answer. Her grey eyes were set on Lauren, whose shock had apparently rendered her immobile. The stranger's chi spiked as she studied Lauren's face, and Bo did not like that at all.

"My god," Bo breathed, tightening her jaw as the realization hit her: this woman was involved with Lauren. The energy of a former lover was unmistakable.

"You can't be here," Lauren said.

"I'm as surprised as you are," the other woman answered, taking a step toward her. But Lauren held up her hand.

"No. I mean, it's not safe."

Silence fell between them again.

"Is someone gonna tell me what the hell's going on?" Bo finally blurted out.

"I'm Devany," the stranger offered, acknowledging Bo fully for the first time. "Or just Dev."

"That's an unusual name," Bo commented.

"Not when you come from a long line of Irish Canadians," the newcomer replied, trying to sound light-hearted. "Devany _Galway_," she specified, over-enunciating her last name for emphasis. "Subtle, right?" She took a small step toward Lauren, holding out her hands.

Irish or whatever, Bo thought, she'd send this chick back where she came from if she moved again toward Lauren, who was practically shaking in her presence. Bo angled herself slightly in front of the doctor so she could intervene if Devany tried to come any closer.

Dev studied Lauren's prone figure, apparently oblivious to Bo's defensive stance beside the doctor. The gray-eyed woman's expression became desperate and her hands fell to her sides. "Lauren, please. Say _something_."

"I…." Lauren murmured, trailing off.

The redhead studied the doctor's face, and Bo clenched her jaw more tightly as she watched the stranger's aura burn hotter. This was awful.

After a moment, Devany sighed exasperatedly. "I know. This is…I thought my mind would be filled with things to say right now. But here you are and I have no idea- -" She broke off, seeing Lauren move as though she was going to respond.

But Lauren just looked pleadingly at her.

"Please, Lauren," the stranger said. "Talk to me."

Lauren looked down at the asphalt for a few seconds, then turned to Bo, who had moved so close to her that they were almost touching hips. "I'll meet you at The Dal in an hour," she told Bo. Fleetingly, Lauren's gaze wandered to Bo's lips before drifting back to eye level.

"I really don't think I should just lea- -" Bo started to say, but Lauren cut her off.

"I promise," the blonde added, seeing the questions swirling in Bo's eyes. Lauren wished she could sound more reassuring, but how could she, when she wasn't sure what was happening herself?

Bo didn't like this idea at all, but for once she didn't try to argue. The piece of mind that made her relent was the certainty that she could count on Lauren to be true to her word. If there was one thing she was sure of when it came to Lauren, it was her loyalty. When Lauren made an oath, she kept it.

"Okay," Bo conceded, feeling her arm begin to sting where Lauren had given her the shot. Was that her imagination? Her whole body seemed to hurt all of the sudden.

Bo shrugged, reluctant to leave Lauren alone with Deva-whoever, but Lauren's eyes were desperate. So she turned, without another word, and walked to her car. She was pretty sure that if she looked at the stranger again or said anything more, she would wind up sucking the life out of whatshername, and that didn't seem like the best plan. Even though Lauren was shocked, she seemed to trust this woman. Bo wasn't sure if that made her feel better or worse about leaving.

As she climbed into the driver's seat, Bo cast one last glance over her shoulder. Lauren was standing with her arms crossed, looking down at the pavement. Devany hadn't moved.

Shit. This day wasn't turning out the way Bo had imagined it at all. Even in the worst case scenario, she hadn't anticipated an entirely new person walking into the picture. Damn it.

As she started the engine of her convertible, Bo stared icily at Dev in her rear view mirror. Fuck, she thought. That woman better not do _anything_ to hurt Lauren. Or Bo would leave her drained and devoid of life in a heartbeat.

Suddenly, Bo was panic-stricken. What if Dev didn't plan to hurtLauren? What if she- -

No, Bo thought. Lauren had promised to meet her at The Dal. She would be there. And then, Bo was sure she would explain what was going on. Still, Bo felt like crap, even with the knowledge that she would only have to wait an hour to ask Lauren all of her questions. And what was that churning feeling in her stomach? Had she eaten something bad for breakfast?

She was dialing Kenzi on her phone even before she turned out onto the street.

"Kenz, I need you. Can you meet me at Trick's? I'm not sure what just happened, but I don't like it at all."


	5. Chapter 5

**Part 5**

At the police station, Dyson took a long sip from his coffee mug. It seemed like he and Hale couldn't catch a break with any of the cases they were working on. He looked at the stack of folders piled on his desk and, for the sixth or seventh time, was drawn to one of them.

He picked up a file labeled "Andre Jackson" and stared at the photo clipped to the front. Why did this man look familiar? Had he seen him somewhere before? The picture blurred a little as he studied it. The detective shook his head. Focus, he thought. Focus. What time was it anyway? He checked his watch.

Returning to the folder, he flipped through the pages to find the coroner's notes, and read:

"32 year old black male, height 6 feet 4 inches. Time of death: 6:35 p.m. Cause of death: internal bleeding from knife wounds to the liver. Fingernail damage consistent with defensive injuries, suggesting struggle with assailant. Items found on victim's person: driver's licence, memo pad, miniature nail clippers, $13.72 CAD."

Pretty run-of-the-mill, Dyson thought, starting to close the file. But a newly-inserted document sticking up behind the coroner's notes caught his attention. Apparently, Hale had visited the homes of two of victim's surviving family members: his sister, Annette, and mother, Janelle. The new page in the file was a summary of Hale's notes from both visits.

"Interview with Annette Jackson," Dyson read aloud to himself, starting with the first. "Sister of the deceased. 34 year old black female, average height." He skipped ahead, skimming the section where Hale summarized the questions he had asked Ms. Jackson and recorded her answers. Most of the conversation was routine.

Toward the end, however, Dyson was intrigued to note that Hale had mentioned to Ms. Jackson that it was impressive that her brother was fluent in Dutch. Apparently the memo pad they had found on him at the scene had notes in it scribbled in Dutch.

Fluent in Dutch?, Ms. Jackson had asked. She was unaware that her brother had ever studied the language. How could he have written in it? But when Hale showed her the memo pad she confirmed that, yes, the notes were definitely in his handwriting.

Nice of Hale to mention, Dyson thought. He hadn't known about this. Although, to be fair, he and his partner had hardly seen each other all day long.

Dyson stopped reading. The wheels in his head were turning, figuring. He searched the interview with the victim's mother for a similar question, knowing Hale would double-check with her. She too knew nothing about Andre being literate in any languages other than English, but confirmed that the notes in the memo pad were definitely in his handwriting.

Dyson couldn't help but smile as he flipped the file onto his desk in excitement. He felt like celebrating. Finally! At last, they had a lead after 24 hours of nothing but cold trails and headaches.

This new information stirred up a familiar sensation for Dyson. At once, the case felt fresh and thrilling. Since becoming a cop fifty years ago, after hundreds of years of living as a warrior, he often found himself longing for the adrenaline of combat. Moments like these, on the hunt as a detective, sated those desires. His centuries-old soul stirred at the prospect of closing the case, and he felt exhilarated- -much more so than he had since visiting the Norn.

He gritted his teeth, his thoughts drifting against his will to Bo. "The ancients adore trickery," Trick had warned him. He thought had understood the truth of that statement, but he hadn't. The Norn had ripped from him the one possession that had begun to make him feel whole again for the first time in generations: his passion for Bo. Now all he was left with, once again, was his work, which had been letting him down big-time all week long. Until now.

Dyson had snapped at Bo on the phone when she questioned whether there could have been Dark Fae involvement in the Jackson murder, but he hadn't been able to shake the suggestion since she made it. Now he had reason to wonder. And a case to focus his energies on. Turning serious, he picked up his cell phone and started dialing.

"Hale, this is Dyson."

"Hey man, where are you?" the siren answered.

"I'm at the station. Where are you?"

"I'm at The Dal shooting some stick."

"Date fell through?" Dyson questioned.

"Aw, yeah," Hale said, recovering from his botched fib. "But 'de night, she is still young," he cooed, putting on a fake Jamaican accent. "Ooh. And sexy. There are some fine, fine ladies at the bar tonight, including a rogue succubus with a thing for leather that I know you enjoy. You sure you don't want to come down here?"

At the mention of Bo, Dyson felt an emptiness resonate in his heart which was fast becoming familiar. His heart felt cavernous, cold, abandoned. There used to be something there, long before Bo, and again when he and the succubus got involved. But not any more. Willing his mind, he shook off his memories and snapped back to reality. Focus on the case, he thought. He gritted his teeth.

"Dyson? Are you there?" Hale asked into the silence on the line.

"I'm here," Dyson growled after a pause.

Hale shook his head. Sometimes Dyson seemed even more wolf-like when he was in human form than when he shifted. Either way, Hale knew better than to prod him. "Ok, cool," the siren responded, trying to sound casual. Dyson would tell him whatever was going on eventually. Until then, he would wait.

"Listen," Dyson went on. "I need to ask you a favor. I saw the notes you added to the Jackson file from your interviews with Andre's mother and sister. The memo pad needs to be- -"

"- -translated and run through a second round of analysis? Yeah," Hale finished for him. "Forensics is working on it as we speak. I am a professional, you know."

"I know," Dyson said, satisfied. A smile appeared momentarily on his face. Hale was always on top of his game. That was why they worked so well together. "Listen, we shouldn't rule out Fae involvement here. While you're at The Dal, ask Trick if he knows of any Dark Fae that might be associated with Dutch language or culture. I'm going to have forensics confirm that the notes are in Jackson's handwriting. You got a writing sample from Andre's family?"

"Yep. The police lab has it."

"Good," Dyson repeated. He thanked his lucky stars for Hale's diligence. "Find out what you can from Trick."

"Alright," Hale agreed. "Should we send the evidence to the Fae Labs when the police technicians are done with it?"

Dyson's smile contorted into a look of distaste at the thought involving the Light Fae in this sooner than necessary. That would involve talking to Lauren, who was not high atop his list of favourite people right now. A surge of cold made its way through his chest at the thought of The Ash's scientist. It felt like a stream of ice water trickling through his veins, weaker than before his visit to the Norn, but still present. "Not yet," Dyson snapped. "Let's see how far we can go with this through police channels for now. And whatever Trick knows."

"Okay," Hale said. "I'll talk to him. But, promise me you're gonna to take a break sometime soon. I'm starting to worry about you, man."

"Just ask him," Dyson said again. "Let me know what you come up with."

"You got it," Hale answered back. "I'll call you later tonight." Dyson thanked him, and the siren hung up his phone and slipped it into his pocket, picking up his cue to resume his game.

Hale surveyed the pool table in front of him and saw that he had a perfect shot. Then he surveyed the room and noticed a sexy shifter with _in_-credible curves walking toward him. She winked at him, and he grinned his most debonair smile. "Aw, this is going to be good," he said to himself, posing for her benefit as he drew back his cue. Dyson's question could wait a few minutes.

Meanwhile, across the bar, Kenzi was throwing back a second shot of Buckthorn while Bo looked pitifully into a pint of beer.

"Seriously, Bo," Kenzi chirped, wiping her mouth with her sleeve. She paused for a moment to adjust the green barrette she was wearing in her freshly-dyed black hair. "You don't know. This redheaded Dev-a-whoever could have a thing for Lauren, but no history. Doctor Freeze doesn't seem like the type to have a long string of _lovahs_."

Bo tried to smile at Kenzi's optimism, even though she didn't share it. "Thanks for the visual, Kenz. But if there's one thing I know when I see it, it's sexual energy. And this chick was crackling with it, and all for Lauren."

"You would know," Kenzi allowed.

"Yeah, energy flow is kind of my thing. Or whatever."

"No," Bo's confidant countered, her face becoming serious. "About feelings just for Lauren."

Bo looked at her.

"Are you gonna drink that?" Trick asked, cutting into the conversation from behind the bar. "Or are you more interested in watching it ferment?"

Glad for the distraction, Bo retorted quickly. "Do you ever use any all of the glasses you wash, or do you just dry them constantly keep your arms buff?"

"Touché," the barkeep replied, polishing the tumbler in his hand with a towel. He frowned at the troubled look on Bo and Kenzi's faces. "What's going on?"

Kenzi kept quiet and looked at Bo.

"Nothing," Bo muttered. "Hopefully nothing. We'll find out soon." She glanced at the clock on the wall as Kenzi exchanged glances with Trick. Lauren would be there any minute. "Do you know a Devany Galway?" the succubus asked, impatient for some explanation.

"Never heard of her," Trick said. "Is she Fae?"

"Not sure," Bo replied. Good question.

"Bo," Kenzi interjected. "Blonde doc at six o' clock."

The succubus turned to see Lauren searching the bar room for her, hands in the pockets of a blue leather jacket. She looked radiant in a white linen shirt and grey slacks, her wavy blonde hair spilling over her shoulders. Bo waved unsurely, and Lauren spotted her at the counter and made her way over.

"Hey, doc," Kenzi said as Lauren arrived at Bo's side.

"Hey," Lauren returned, addressing them both. Trick had wandered down to the far end of the bar. Even though she and Bo's sidekick had never really jelled, Lauren was glad to see Kenzi beside Bo. It occurred to Lauren, not for the first time, that Kenzi was Bo's only real friend. She wished she knew the other human better.

Bo looked nervously at Lauren, then turned to address Trick, who had come to refill Kenzi's glass. "Hey, anyone in the back room?"

"Be my guest," the pub owner invited as he reached under the bar for a bottle to pour Kenzi another shot. He looked sideways at Bo and Lauren as he reached for Kenzi's glass.

Lauren looked at Bo expectantly. Cautiously, the succubus stood up.

"I'll be right here, hangin' with the Trickster," Kenzi told Bo as Lauren walked slowly ahead. Kenzi gave her best friend a reassuring look, which the Fae accepted gratefully. She clapped Bo on the shoulder and squeezed.

Trick raised an eyebrow at all of them as Kenzi threw back another shot and Bo followed after Lauren. The concern etched on the human doctor's face was troubling, and he had no idea why it was there.

xxxx xxxx xxxx

In the back, Lauren and Bo settled onto the sofa where Kenzi had rested while she recovered from her brush with a Basilisk a few weeks ago.

It had felt so right to Bo to spend that day, which now seemed long ago, with Lauren. Their evening had been topped off with little touches: Bo resting her hand on Lauren's back while the doctor checked Kenzi's vital signs, Lauren smoothing her hands along Bo's shoulders to thank Bo for getting her out of her shell for a while. Bo had felt like there was so much possibility between them that day, a detectible static. Even now, Bo could feel the energy crackling between the two of them. Why hadn't she thought of this earlier?

Lost in her own thoughts, Lauren sat close enough to feel the warmth of Bo's presence, but stayed back slightly. After a long moment, she spoke, quietly. "I'm sorry for making you wait."

"I knew you'd be here when you promised," Bo answered fluidly. It was true. "Besides, I've made you wait a long time to explain yourself. I don't know why I wasn't ready to listen until now. I'm sorry."

Lauren tilted her head toward Bo empathetically. She had decided on the ride over that there was no reason to encourage Bo to beat herself up about this. The succubus had already gone through hell fighting off her mother and a host of other evils in the past week. And even after all of that, here she was. "It's okay," she said simply, and she took a deep breath.

Lauren took in the sight of the uncommonly beautiful woman sitting next to her in close quarters. Bo was wearing her signature dark colors: a burgundy v-neck that accentuated her already enticing curves, black fitted jeans, and black boots. She and Bo were quite the pair, Lauren thought: she with her white linen shirt, grey slacks, and blonde hair in contrast to Bo's dark clothing, eyes, and affect. She would have chuckled about it, if she weren't so nervous about having this conversation.

Also, Bo was wearing small gold earrings, Lauren noticed, which glimmered beneath her dark hair every so often when she turned her head. She really was stunning, in so many ways.

Realizing she was staring, Lauren looked away too quickly, folding her hands in her lap. It had been so easy for her to start this conversation with Bo when she had imagined it in her head. She exhaled again as she attempted to gather her thoughts.

Bo could feel the rush of air next to her when Lauren breathed, and she tried to wait for Lauren to speak. But after a long moment, Bo couldn't stand the silence. It was hard to be patient, considering what had happened back at the lab.

"Lauren, who was that?" Bo asked uneasily. It wasn't the gentlest opening question, but she couldn't contain it any longer.

Lauren thought she detected a note of pain in Bo's question. Was that real, or was she imagining it? She hesitated. How very _Bo_ to leadoff with a direct question. The succubus' signature bravado made electric currents dance inside her chest, but any hint of a smile faded from her lips when she saw the hurt evident in Bo's eyes. She hadn't been imagining it.

"Given your abilities, I'm guessing you already know," Lauren said slowly, looking down at her lap.

"Her chi spiked off the charts every time she looked at you," the succubus confirmed. Bo's mouth felt dry as son as the words had left her.

Lauren's throat ached sharply at Bo's observation and her heart fell. "Bo," she managed to say, her voice breaking slightly. She didn't want to force the succubus to make any guesses about who Devany was, so she collected herself quickly. She was probably only confirming what Bo already assumed anyway, she guessed, so she may as well tell her. "Dev and I were together a long time ago," she heard herself say, as if from afar.

"Together? Like, _together_ together?"

Lauren nodded her head, confirming.

Bo had to look away. She tried to keep her cool by reminding herself that Lauren had kept her promise to come to The Dal to talk to her even after Devany had shown up, and was here with her now. It was hard for Bo to dig any further, but now that she knew part of the story, she needed to hear it all. "What happened?" the succubus asked boldly, squaring her shoulders.

"The Ash," Lauren replied, crumpling a little.

Bo's body stiffened at the mention of the Light elder's name. "Of course."

Lauren's hand reached reflexively for the pendant of her necklace, which drew Bo's eyes to it too. It was visible, as always, beneath Lauren's shirt collar.

"I owe the Light Fae my life," Lauren said quietly. "Cutting off Dev was part of the deal."

Bo nodded, but didn't comment right away. "Yeah, they're not big on the big L here," she remarked coolly. She tried to laugh at her remark, but she couldn't. All of the sudden, nothing seemed funny. Was it love that was making her stomach turn over right now? Had Kenzi been right earlier when she told Bo that's what that feeling was?

Unaware of what was going on in Bo's stomach, Lauren felt the ache in her throat intensify. She responded barely audibly: "Only if you're human."

That got Bo's attention.

"Oh...shit." Bo cursed as the realization hit her. She turned to look at Lauren.

Only if you're human, Bo repeated to herself. Shit. She looked wide-eyed at Lauren as a wave of understanding broke over her. How had she not thought of this sooner?

Lauren saw Bo's face and decided to elaborate. She owed it to Bo, and to herself.

"The night I came over," she said, leaning a little closer, "you were talking about wanting a normal human life. I knew what you were feeling, because I had mine taken away from me too."

Lauren closed her eyes as her mind filled with regret and two tears rolled soundlessly down her face. She hadn't planned to tell Bo this- -she had barely acknowledged it herself in the past several years, or that night at Bo's house- -but it was important for Bo to hear.

Bo understood. That was why Lauren had kissed her when she got up to go after Vex. And that was why Lauren hadn't stopped once she started kissing her: She was the only person in Lauren's world who understood the emptiness Lauren lived with as a human servant of The Ash.

Lauren studied Bo's face as the truth dawned on the succubus. Even if not for the connection between, the mutual loss of freedom, she would still want Bo. Lord, how she wanted her, Lauren thought, her eyes running over Bo's body That much had been clear from their first meeting, before the succubus had even spoken. How could Lauren not be drawn to the woman sitting next to her? The circumstances common to both of them only intensified Lauren's longing. Lauren hadn't intended to seduce Bo the night she came over to Bo and Kenzi's house. She hadn't intended to fall for Bo either. Lauren closed her eyes, and two more tears tumbled from her eyes.

Bo reached up and used her shirt sleeve to dry Lauren's face. Neither of them had spoken for what felt like a long time and Bo was worried. "I'm so sorry," Bo whispered, scooting closer to Lauren. "Tell me. Please."

Lauren had opened her eyes when she felt the brush of Bo's shirt sleeve against her face. Lauren looked at her, encouraged by Bo's concern. The brunette's forehead was creased and her eyes were fixed intently on Lauren's face. Lauren looked at Bo's mouth, which she suddenly realized was very close to hers.

The Fae tried to smile to encourage Lauren to speak, which made the doctor feel a little better. Bo could be so damned charming sometimes, especially under pressure. Lauren felt her cheeks warm slightly, scared as she was to tell her story.

"I've been connected to the Fae world since I was born," Lauren began, "even though I didn't know it. I grew up in Nova Scotia. My father was a marine biologist."

"Hmm. So science-y brains run in the family," Bo cut in, trying to be light. She couldn't help but grin as she said it.

Lauren laughed softly. "So it seems," she replied, mirroring Bo's smile. It occurred to her that this was the first time she had really seen Bo smile in several weeks, which lifted her spirits. The lightness Lauren felt dissolved into pensiveness, however, as she came to the next part. "My mother, " she said, biting her lip. She paused. "My mother was Fae."

Bo's eyes grew wide. "What kind?"

"A selkie," Lauren said. "Scottish water Fae. Selkies shape shift into seals, and my dad was studying gray seals in the Bay of Fundy. That's how they met. Apparently, my mother had been watching him for some time. After a little while, she approached him in human form, and he fell in love with her- -instantly, from what I understand."

"Mmm," Bo murmured quietly. Attractiveness while working must run in the family too, she thought to herself. Generations of charmingly endearing scientists.

Lauren looked down, aware that Bo's mind seemed to have wandered as the Fae looked at her. She felt her skin grew a little hotter. "Yes. They were apparently quite smitten with each other. And soon after that, my mum became pregnant with me. So The Morrigan- -"

"Wait. Your mother was Dark Fae?" Bo interrupted.

"Yes," Lauren confirmed, clenching her jaw. This part was the hardest for her to tell, and one of the reasons why she usually kept her story secret. "The_Morrigan_," she said, channeling all of her bitterness into the Dark elder's name, "found out my mother was pregnant with a half-human offspring. But instead of killing me, she decided she would make an example of us. She ordered my mother to carry me to term."

Lauren stopped, and Bo waited, knowing this could not be an easy story for Lauren to tell.

"After I was born, my mum became consumed with guilt over having chosen a human mate and eventually abandoned our family. Thanks to the Dark elders, she had grown to resent us. Of course, I didn't know any of this until I was an adult. My father told me she had died from cancer."

"I'm so sorry," Bo whispered earnestly. She could see jolts of pain flashing like tiny flares in Lauren's eyes. Interspersed with the hurt, however, Bo could see the trust on Lauren's face as she confided her story. Bo tried focusing on that instead.

"My childhood was very happy, actually," Lauren gushed. "My dad used to bring me with him to the Bay to be his research assistant." She smiled widely and panned to Bo. "I was probably the only kid in the province with my own monogrammed lab coat by the age of 6."

Bo couldn't help but laugh at the image of Lauren as a kid scientist. The memory of those days as she recounted them now on her face now lighted her eyes and her whole aura. She couldn't possibly be any more beautiful, Bo thought to herself. "Of course," the succubus remarked with a chuckle.

"Mmm," Lauren affirmed. "When I got older, I decided to go to medical school to become a geneticist. I wanted to research hereditary diseases, so that other people wouldn't have to grow up with half a family like I did. So, after university, I went off to the West coast to get my M.D./Ph.D."

Lauren halted suddenly at that point and looked down at her hands. She could feel Bo beaming pridefully as she explained why she went into medicine, and she didn't want to get to the next part. But she had to.

"It wasn't easy to be on the other side of the continent from my father. We tried to talk regularly, but things got busy at school with exams, classes, and clinical assessments." Lauren swallowed hard, her voice wavering. "Then, two-thirds of the way through my program, I got a call from the Dean. She said my father had been in a boating accident and it was serious. I left immediately to go see him."

Seeing the blonde's auburn eyes glisten in the dim light, Bo leaned as close to Lauren as her courage would allow and laid a hand on Lauren's forearm.

Lauren swallowed hard, concentrating on the feeling of Bo's hand against her arm before continuing. "I- -" she started, and then hesitated, trying again. "I didn't make it in time." She looked up at Bo, barely containing her tears. Her voice was thick, and it broke. "When I got home, he was already gone."

"Oh, Lauren…." Bo whispered, holding onto her arm more tightly. Bo could see the doctor in Lauren willing her mind to take over from her emotions, as she was so often required to in her work. She must have gotten used to doing that, Bo figured, but clearly her human heart still won out sometimes.

"That was the beginning," Lauren said, winning the battle against her emotions.

Bo nodded, but didn't say anything. Lauren turned her face to re-gain her composure, and a few strands of her hair brushed against Bo's shoulder. Had Lauren not been so obviously distressed, Bo would have reveled in that sensation. For the time being, however, she tried not to think about it. She listened intently as Lauren continued.

"When I got to the house, there was a group of people there that I had never seen before. They knew everything about me- -my name, the intricate details of my life, everything."

"They were Fae," Bo guessed, in what was more of a statement than a question. Lauren nodded. "Was it the Dark?"

"No," Lauren corrected. "The Light." She sat up straight, remembering. "The Ash himself was there that night."

"Oh," Bo said, grimacing at the Light Elder's name. She took her hand off of Lauren's arm and brought it back her lap.

Lauren understood Bo's resentment for The Ash, but she only had partial information. She hurried on to next part of the story. "He told me that my mother was alive and hunting for me, and why, and that she wouldn't stop until she killed me. He didn't say whether she had murdered my father, but I assumed that she had. Later, I found out that the Light elders had already saved my life several times at that point, unbeknownst to me."

"Why?" Bo wondered aloud.

"Well," Lauren replied, exhaling. "The Ash needed a doctor to run his lab, and why not choose a half-Fae who was familiar with the human world _and_ would obey his every order? Plus, it was a perfect dig against the Dark. Not a strong enough insult to start a war, but enough of a swipe to satisfy the Light elders. As long as I'm alive, every time The Morrigan looks at me, she's reminded of the shame my mother brought to her clan. And she can't get rid of me, because I'm under The Ash's protection."

Bo nodded, staring at the floor and wringing her hands. The succubus looked to Lauren like she wanted to punch something, a response she could understand. Lauren had felt like that too once, but she'd given those feelings up long ago. She'd had to, to survive.

"In return for a lifetime of service," Lauren finished, "the Light elders guaranteed my safety and helped me complete my training as a doctor. They gave me the resources to continue practicing medicine and conducting research. And they taught me Fae science in addition to human physiology and genetics- -the discovery of a lifetime."

"But in return for what kind of life?" Bo questioned.

Lauren looked at her understandingly. She had gone through several phases of being angry, then sad, and ultimately lonely, but none of those had done her any good. "It really wasn't much of a choice," she tried to explain. "If I had refused to serve The Ash, I would have been killed. This way, at least I had the chance to fulfill one of my dreams."

"But what about your other ones?" Bo asked, aware that she was treading onto painful ground for both of them.

Lauren looked intently at Bo's face, surprised by the anguish she saw etched into the Fae's features. Lauren hadn't realized how deeply Bo's hurt could cut her, or how much Bo seemed to care about her. She felt preemptively guilty, anticipating how much answering Bo's question would hurt them both, but Bo deserved to know the truth.

"The sole condition of working for the Fae was that I had to cut off all contact with the human world," Lauren said. "That meant everyone, including Dev."

Bo could feel Lauren's chi glow faintly at the mention of Devany's name, as if energy once bright was escaping in beams from beneath a pile of rubble. She felt her stomach do that thing again that she had talked to Kenzi about.

"I loved her," Lauren admitted honestly, aware of the hurt that crept across Bo's face. It hurt Lauren tell Bo this, but she needed to know. "Dev wasn't my first girlfriend," Lauren said, "but she was the first one I didn't want to live without."

"Oh," Bo said dejectedly, looking down at her boots.

The aching in Lauren's throat swelled again as she looked at Bo. "We met in medical school," Lauren explained quietly. "Dev was training to be a medical examiner for the police. A very good one, I might add."

"I bet," Bo muttered, staring down the floorboards beneath her feet.

Lauren blew a little puff of air from her nose in exasperation. "The Light Fae staged my abduction," she explained, "but Dev didn't fall for it. They were sloppy, and she knew the evidence didn't add up. She tracked me for a year after I disappeared, all the way to Ontario from the Pacific coast before she gave up. Then, two years later, by complete chance, she wound up at the 39th District with Dyson and Hale."

"Great," Bo commented, responding to the mental image of Lauren, Dev, and Dyson thrown together. She shifted impatiently on the sofa.

"When the Ash found out that Dev was getting close to finding me, he ordered Dyson to take care of it," Lauren said, pronouncing the Light Fae detective's name as though it tasted sour. She stopped there until that detail registered on Bo's face.

"He wouldn't," Bo responded, gaping. Would he? She wondered to herself.

"He would," Lauren said plainly, her voice deadly serious. "Why would he care about a worthless human, even if her life meant something to me?"

The reason for Dyson and Lauren's distrust of each other began to dawn on Bo. She searched Lauren's face for explanation.

"I wouldn't have known about any of this," Lauren said, "if Hale hadn't told me what was going on. He offered to get Dev out-of-town safely, which he did. They had become pretty close at that point. After that, she was up in Nunavut, apparently, until she came across a Fae case last year that sent her back here looking for me. That's what she told me today."

Lauren looked worriedly at Bo, who was hunched over next to her. "Now you know everything," she concluded quietly. She waited, studying Bo with concern.

Eventually, the succubus straightened up and looked at her again.

"Bo," Lauren whispered. The succubus looked at Lauren, whose eyes held hers. "I've wanted to tell you: The night I came to your house, I came to see you because I wanted to. The Ash suggested it to me, but I was acting on my own."

"What do you mean he suggested it?" Bo questioned, her skin flushed.

"He told me that Vex was a favourite of the Dark, and if you killed Vex, the Dark would- -retaliate against you." She couldn't bring herself to repeat what The Ash had said, that the Dark would kill Bo. "He said he would arrange for Vex to be sent away while I distracted you, if I agreed to do my part."

"Did he tell you to sleep with me?" Bo asked, her emotions coming completely unmoored. Did she want to know?

"He implied it," Lauren answered, looking at Bo tenderly, "but he didn't order me into your bed. He'd found out I was helping you with your treatments without his permission. He said he assumed I was doing it for the good of the Light Fae."

"Were you?" Bo asked, her eyes shining with tears.

"No," Lauren answered firmly, before the whole truth came out in a rush. "Bo, I helped you because _I_ wanted to. And, the night I came over, I kissed you because I couldn't not kiss you any more."

Bo sat up abruptly at Lauren's confession and looked at the human doctor. Memories of the feeling of Lauren's hands on her, Lauren's mouth, and her breathless phrases from the night they had spent together came flooding back, and Bo knew she was telling the truth.

"I believe you," Bo whispered, leaning forward. She brought her hands up to cup Lauren's jaw and Lauren put her hands on Bo's waist. Then Bo closed the distance between them.

"Mmm," Lauren breathed, as Bo's mouth found hers after weeks of waiting. She realized at once that her memories of Bo's kisses, as vivid as they were, had been wildly insufficient. She hadn't remembered how intense Bo's passion could be. Lauren pressed her palm against the back of Bo's neck and braced herself against the arm of the sofa as the kiss turned molten between them.

Feeling Lauren pull her closer, Bo rose up and leaned against Lauren, pressing into her. She wanted to feel her weight against Lauren's body, the way she had before. She could feel Lauren's hips against hers and the softness of Lauren's breasts. It was too much for Bo, knowing now everything that Lauren had been through and remembering how she had treated Lauren for the past several weeks. Determined to make up for it, Bo channeled her energy into making up for lost time. She wanted to make Lauren feel amazingly good.

Bo traced the outline of Lauren's upper lip with her tongue, and Lauren let her in, slowly. Sitting back slightly to create a space between them, Bo dragged the fingertips of one hand across Lauren's collarbone, running her thumb up Lauren's neck. Lauren jolted forward at that sensation and reached for Bo's other hand, holding it tightly between them.

Feeling Lauren jump, Bo backed off a little and broke the kiss. Concerned, she searched Lauren's eyes, which opened after hers.

"I…wanted to feel you," Lauren breathed in explanation, her heart hammering. Her eyes drifted over Bo's body, lingering at Bo's neckline for a few seconds, before returning to the succubus' face. She wanted Bo, but she didn't want Bo to think that was all she wanted. Regardless, she definitely did not want Bo to stop, a message the brunette seemed to receive loud and clear.

Relieved, Bo smiled and slid back to where she had been, hovering over Lauren. "Here," she whispered, taking Lauren's hands and guiding them to the sides of her breasts. "Feel me," she directed, her eyes glowing slightly blue. Smiling at Lauren's sharp intake of breath at her suggestion, she descended on the blonde's mouth for another kiss.

"Mmm," Lauren hummed, trying valiantly to resist the urge to explore Bo's curves through the fabric of her shirt. She wanted Bo, but she didn't want to cheapen the moment with physical desire. Right now, she wanted to show Bo how much she cared about her.

Meanwhile, Bo felt herself edging toward losing control. Lauren's energy was burning so hot, it felt to Bo like a steak dangled in front of a starving bear. She was trying desperately not to feed.

Sensing the tension in Bo's body, Lauren could tell the succubus was struggling not to feed. She lifted her hands to Bo's face, lightening the pressure of her lips. It was easy for Lauren to forget that Bo was not accustomed to romance. As a succubus living in the human world, all the brunette had ever known was sex; she had never been loved before. Lauren had to show Bo what tenderness felt like.

Bo returned Lauren's gentle touch, brushing a strand of hair out of the doctor's face. She was amazed that Lauren could express so many emotions in a single kiss. She wondered to herself whether another Fae could do that the way Lauren, a human, could.

Feeling Bo relax, Lauren pulled back, resting her forehead against Bo's neck while they both caught their breath. Exhausted, Lauren drew Bo closer to her, pressing herself against the succubus' steady frame. Her eyes closed of their own accord when she felt Bo's arms wrap around her shoulders.

Bo held Lauren tightly, inhaling deeply as she breathed in the scent of Lauren's hair, which smelled faintly of lavender. She smiled brightly as she felt Lauren's chin settle against her shoulder.

How could she have waited so long to give Lauren a chance to explain herself, she wondered? How could she have ever fooled herself into thinking she didn't want this?

Her thoughts rushing headlong, the succubus' mind descended into a panic. What would she do without Lauren, who always set aside time for her, and made her feel both complex and simple- -a word she had teased Lauren for using that night they went out for drinks- -in the often unfeeling world of the Fae? If ever Bo questioned her humanity, being with Lauren reminded her of the world from which she had come before stumbling into the alternate reality of the Fae. Why had this never occurred to her before?

Would Lauren's feelings for her change, with Dev back on the scene? Given the choice of being with her former love, would the doctor decide she deserved better than a self-absorbed succubus? Bo cursed herself silently as she felt Lauren shift in her arms. How could she have been so stupid and self-involved for so long?

She had a lot to think about. But before Bo could begin to answer any of these questions, a melodic voice broke into her thoughts.

"Uh, sorry to bother you," Hale said, standing in the doorway.

Jolted by another surprise appearance, Lauren jumped for what felt like the hundredth time that day, and Bo shot Hale a pleading look. He turned to one side to give them a moment. Bo and Lauren looked at each other before breaking apart and turning toward him.

A second later, Kenzi came galloping in behind the detective, completely out of breath. "Hold up!" she shouted at Hale. "I tried to stop him," she panted to Bo, "but he got all gung-ho cop guy and ran past me before I could."

"It's okay," Bo said, although she appreciated the explanation.

"Great job, dumbass," Kenzi said to Hale, socking him in the shoulder.

"Whoa, momma," he said, grabbing Kenzi's fist to keep her from punching him again.

"Would you two cut it out?" Bo begged, glancing at Lauren, who looked alarmed and more than a little weak. Hale and Kenzi froze, and Bo turned back toward the two of them. "So tell us. What was so important it couldn't wait?"

"We have new evidence in the Jackson case," Hale explained, straightening his hat, which had been knocked crooked when Kenzi punched him. There's definitely something weird going on, probably Dark Fae like you thought. We need your help."

Bo looked at Kenzi questioningly, then back at Lauren.

"Yours too, doc," Hale added, his eyes following Bo's to the blonde on the sofa. "If you're up for it."


	6. Chapter 6

[_Author__'__s_ _Note:_ Sweet mother. I know. 7 months between chapters? I hope you will forgive me and jump back on this story train with me. Better late than never, right? (In addition to posting the latest installment, I revised the older chapters of this fic too, so check them out.) And now, my fellow fangirls and general fiction readers…may I present…]

**Part 6**

"I really need to get back to the lab- -" Lauren started to say. But Kenzi cut her off before she could finish.

"I don't want to go all one true slayer on your vampire impersonation project, but you don't look like you should be off to the Fae science fair right now."

"She's right," Bo chimed in, grateful as always for Kenzi's propensity for stating the obvious. "Don't you think you should get some sleep?" When Lauren winced slightly, she added, "I'll call you when we have a plan."

Hale took off his hat and tilted his head toward Lauren apologetically. "Yeah, hey. Sorry. You do look pretty wiped out. Will you let me drive you home?"

Bo turned and looked appreciatively at Hale, seeing him a new light after hearing Lauren's story. Now that she thought about it, there always seemed be an easy give-and-take between the two of them. He looked out for her in subtle ways, and Bo felt gratefulness brimming in her chest for his attention to Lauren's needs. With Dev in town, Bo suspected her appreciation for his thoughtfulness would grow even more. But then again, Lauren had said Hale and Dev were friends too.

Lauren looked from Hale's concerned face to Kenzi's- - the first time Kenzi had ever looked at her like that, she noted- -to Bo, who was wearing the most strained expression of all. Lauren realized how exhausted she was when she couldn't follow through on her urge to smile reassuringly at the succubus, whose forehead was streaked with worry lines, mouth open in a half-plea.

Lauren's muscles responded sluggishly to the pull within her heart and she knew that Bo, Hale, and Kenzi were right. She had to rest. "Okay," she conceded, turning back to Hale. "I'll take a ride- -_back__to__the__lab_," she emphasized. "I can get a change of clothes and a few hours of sleep in my office." She furrowed her brow when Hale laughed softly in disbelief. "I need to be there in case The Ash wakes up."

Hale sighed but knew better than to argue with a determined Lauren.

Knowing she had won the discussion, Lauren slowly got up from the sofa and trudged across the room. She tried to walk confidently, but she could only hold herself upright to a degree.

Bo followed closely behind Lauren, Kenzi at both of their heels.

As they walked into the main room of the Dal, It occurred to Bo that they must look like a rag-tag group indeed, no threat to anyone. But that's what a family sometimes looked like; and this was the closest thing to a family she had ever had. Bo tightened her hands into fists, determined. She had just found a place and people to call home, and no one was going to take this away from her. Not to some visitor from Lauren's past, or Bo's own demons, or her indecisiveness about who to romance.

Bo watched as Hale ushered Lauren toward the door of the Dal and his car.

As Hale led her, Lauren could feel Bo's gaze emanating from behind her. She paused for a moment, struck by an overpowering urge to kiss Bo goodbye. She couldn't believe that Bo had kissed _her_ for the first time just a few minutes ago. But Lauren's mind was scattered, and if she tried, she probably wouldn't have been able to coax her muscles into cooperating. So she settled for casting the brunette a lingering backward glance.

Bo met her eyes, and Lauren swore she saw them flash faintly blue for a fraction of a second. She could see that Bo didn't want her to leave her sight. The succubus swayed forward where she stood, but stayed glued to the spot, wringing her hands. Lauren looked quickly at Bo's hands, as strong and steady as the woman who wielded them, and she tried again to smile. She longed for Bo to use those hands to collect her in her arms and hold her there, a pinprick in the back of her mind that never really seemed to dissipate. But duty called. And when duty called, Lauren's loyalty always won out. That was what had earned her the trust she received from The Ash, which she fought so hard to maintain. And he was still unconscious and in need of care. She had to get back to the lab.

So Lauren turned back around and followed Hale to his car. The need to sleep was descending on her quickly, and if she didn't give into it soon, her mind would be unable to process thoughts about anything else.


	7. Chapter 7

**Part 7**

"There has to be something you can tell us that will help." Dyson's voice was troubled as he loomed over Trick in the back room of The Dal Riata. The small Fae man had told Dyson that he had arrived just after Hale and Lauren left. Dyson didn't mean to give Trick a hard time, but he couldn't help but become agitated in Bo's presence. She was standing off to his right side. On Bo's other side, Kenzi had draped her arm protectively over the succubus' shoulder. Dyson knew his detective partner would be back from his errand soon. They didn't have any time to lose.

"I'm sorry," Trick said through clenched teeth, resisting the temptation to lose his cool. He closed the cover of one of his ancient books. "I've thought of all of the types of Fae who might somehow be connected to this case, and nothing seems to fit."

"What about a mesmer?" Bo offered, frowning at the thought of someone like Vex being involved in the murder. "Is there a type of Fae that can manipulate knowledge instead of movement?"

"Interesting thought," Trick replied. "The thing that's strange is that the human host seemed to _gain_ something before the murder. When Fae feed off of humans, we usually take something; we don't give things."

"Yeah, thanks for that," Kenzi murmured, crossing her arms over her chest.

"So why would a Fae give a human something before a kill?" Bo asked.

"What if the killer wasn't Fae?" Kenzi suggested. She could help but smirk with amusement when the trio turned to look at her, the only regular person in the bunch. "What?" she spat at Dyson. "Humans can have good ideas too."

Dyson raised an eyebrow in resignation. He didn't feel like going for a round in the verbal sparring ring with Kenzi. He knew she would win. "This doesn't seem like a simple human kill, or a standard Fae kill," he agreed reluctantly. Without having to look at Bo, he could sense her beaming with a self-satisfied smile beside him. Fine, he thought to himself. She had been right about the case after all. But she was wrong about other things, which he couldn't afford to pour over now.

Trick's eyes lit up as an idea struck him, and he reached for a smaller book off to the side of the bar. "Maybe it wasn't a Fae kill _or_ a human kill," he exclaimed suddenly.

"Wait. You're not about to tell me there's _another_ group of crazy people running around the planet, are you? Because my whack-job quota is currently full." Bo elbowed her lightly in the ribs and she relented a little. "What?" Kenzi retorted, rubbing her side.

Trick ignored Kenzi's antics and pressed on. "Throughout Fae history," he explained, "there have been times when we have confronted spirits who can inhabit our world. These spirits can be either human or Fae, depending on the type. And one…." He trailed off, rifling through the pages of the book.

"Here," Trick said, turning the book so that Bo, Dyson, and Kenzi could see it. "One has been known to inhabit the bodies of living souls, infusing the host with their knowledge and memories. The dybbuk."

"Dy- -ba- -wha?" Bo repeated.

"Dybbuk," Trick said again. "It's a disembodied spirit possessing a living body that belongs to another soul."

"Like a Fae ghost?" Bo asked. Trick nodded.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Hold up there, T-bag," Kenzi interrupted. "You're saying there could be a Brandon Lee wannabe running around Fae town?"

"It's possible," Trick answered. "On occasion, some Fae, like some humans, die with unresolved business that tethers them to the world of the living, preventing them from leaving it behind. A dybbuk might seek revenge for some evil that was done to it while it lived, or it might be lost, looking for a body to inhabit until it can find a spiritual healer to send it on its way."

"That is some freaky shit!" Kenzi yelled. "You can't be serious. Human ghosts are bad enough. Fae ones must be uber-emo."

"They are," Trick declared. "And I assure you, they're quite real."

"So you think we're dealing with one of these dy- -bah, wandering soul kinds-of-things?" Bo wondered aloud.

"Very possibly," Trick replied. "If the victim were inhabited by another person's spirit, that would explain the acquisition of a new language. He would also have acquired new mannerisms, new memories- -"

Dyson cut in, remembering a detail from the case file. "Mrs. Jackson said in Hale's report that Andre complained to her about a recurring dream he had been having the week before he died. It was a memory of swimming in the ocean, but he had never seen to the ocean. And he was having recollections of people he thought he knew from his past, but Mrs. Jackson had never heard of them before."

"Sounds like the kind of thing that happens when a person is transporting a dybbuk," Trick confirmed.

"_Shit_," Bo cursed to herself, exchanging wary glances with Dyson.

"Balls," Kenzi added, flopping into a chair beside the succubus. She looked up as Hale entered the room, having just returned from driving Lauren to the lab. She watched as Bo walked over to him, concern etched into her features.

"Just when you think shit can't get any weirder," Kenzi muttered to herself, watching her best friend gesture animatedly to the siren, "it always does."

Behind her, Trick closed his book and nodded.


	8. Chapter 8

**Part 8**

Lauren woke up slowly, groggily. Her feet felt like cinder blocks on the ends of her body, her hands only a little lighter, and she was certain that her head would pound in protest if she sat up too fast. She flexed her feet experimentally, and the blanket slipped off of her toes, leaving them cold. With effort, she focused on the pattern of the ceiling tiles in her office as sparks dotted her vision.

Wow, she thought. She must have been even more exhausted than she had realized.

She turned her head to look at the clock above her desk, but it was too dark in the room to see its hands. She really should get a digital clock, she decided, or a wrist watch. Preferably one with a backlight.

She sat up slowly until she was fully upright on the cot in her office where she had been sleeping, careful not to jostle her head in one direction or another. Her feet and hands felt lighter now and the sparks had stopped floating in front of her.

"Lights," she ordered in a voice that rang much too loudly in the quiet room. "Low," she added quickly, more gently, and the overhead lights in the office turned on softly. Thank goodness for Fae technology, she thought to herself. Being The Ash's scientist came with a few perks: Access to rare technology. And Fae lore. And, species of life forms….

Lauren smiled, her thoughts conjuring the image of a certain dark-haired newcomer who refused to choose a side in Fae politics.

"My god," Lauren murmured, touching a hand to her mouth as memories from the day flooded back to her. She exclaimed to herself faintly. Bo had finally kissed her. Bo had kissed _her_. A fool's smile, which began at the corners of her mouth and ended at her eyes, made its way across Lauren's face as she replayed the moment several times in her mind.

But Lauren's eyes flew open again when she remembered what had happened just before that: She had told Bo everything. _Everything_. And then left her at The Dal. And before that, this morning, she had come face-to-face with an apparition from her past.

_Devany._ She was _here_. Bo had seen her too. And now Lauren was at the lab, with neither of them.

What time was it anyway? She reached for her cell to check the clock on her home screen. Just then, the phone came alive, announcing with a jingle that she had a new text message. A smile lit Lauren's face when she read it. It was a message from Bo.

"hi sleepy. feeling okay?"

Lauren took a deep breath and typed back, "Just got up. Good timing." She waffled for a second, thinking about adding a smiley face, but decided not to. Bo didn't really strike her as a smiley-face kind of girl. But then again, neither was she. Usually. "Feel groggy, but better," Lauren added and she sent the message. She waited for her phone to jangle again. It did, within a few seconds.

"have sweet dreams?" Bo had asked.

Lauren smiled. When she didn't respond immediately, Bo broke in with another text:

"what are you doing now?"

Lauren lifted her thumbs to write back when her phone came alive again, this time ringing outright. She furrowed her brow, concentrating. It wasn't Bo. She didn't recognize the number. Lauren held her cell up to her ear.

"Dr. Lewis," she said in her most professional voice.

"Hello, doctor," answered the voice on the other line brightly.

"_H_- -_hi_," Lauren replied, surprised. It had been years since she'd awakened to that voice on the phone. And its owner had never had the chance to call her 'doctor', since they were separated before she finished her M.D. "Dev," Lauren murmured, scanning the room quickly to make sure the door was closed. She bit her bottom lip nervously.

"Yep," Dev answered jollily. "You sound surprised. You gave me your number earlier, remember? You told me to call you."

"Of course I remember," Lauren said. "Where are you?"

"The question is, where have you been?" Dev redirected, her voice tinged with concern. "I've tried calling a few times tonight."

"Tonight?" Lauren asked quizzically. She looked at the clock on her phone. Sure enough, it showed that she had been asleep for almost 9 hours. Besides the text alerts, there was an icon on the face of her phone indicating that she had missed 3 calls: 2 from Devany, 1 from Bo. "Oh god," she sputtered. "Sorry. I fell asleep."

"Figures," came the reply from Dev, gentle but pointed. "You looked more tired today than you did when we were doing our rotations."

"That's not possible," Lauren joked, remembering had difficult that year had been, but her lightness faded when her phone jingled again. She had gotten another text from Bo. Lauren's finger hovered over the button to open the message, but she didn't press it. She held the phone back up to her ear.

"Can we still could meet up tonight?" Dev was asking. Do you think- -" She paused. "- -I mean, do you still want to?"

Lauren closed her eyes tightly, listening to Dev's voice. Her hands and feet felt heavy again, as did her heart. Devany had no idea how hard a question that was for her to answer right now. She didn't respond right away.

Into the silence, Dev added, "God, Lauren. I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too," Lauren echoed softly. She sighed deeply, running a hand through her hair. Her voice was strained, both physically and otherwise, but she hoped the honesty underlying her words made up for her tiredness.

Lauren gritted her teeth. God…this was so hard. But, regardless of what else she was feeling, she would not break her oath. A promise was a promise.

Lauren closed her eyes and one hand grasped the pendant around her neck. How many times over the past several years had she imagined Devany rescuing her from the Fae world and whisking her away to a lifetime together? It had to have been hundreds of nights and mornings. And now here the other doctor was, waking Lauren with a statement of love on the other end of the phone. The conversation made Lauren's heart long for long-gone, far better days. Less complicated days. Before the Fae.

"Where are you?" Lauren asked.

"Midtown. I'm staying at a B&B that Hale suggested."

"What's the address?" Lauren asked. "I have to check on a patient, but I'll come over there right after."

Dev bubbled over with laughter. "Now I know I've reached the right girl," she jibed, and Lauren could imagine her smiling as she said it. She gave Lauren the address. It wasn't far from the Fae labs, about a 20 minute drive.

"Okay. So…I'll see you soon then," Devany whispered, as though saying the sentence too loud might prevent it from happening.

"I'll be there soon," Lauren promised. Her finger froze over the 'End Call' button for a few seconds as they both hesitated before hanging up.

Lauren stared at her phone in disbelief for a few seconds, until it jingled impatiently to remind her that she still had an unread text message.

"you there?" Bo had asked. The message was from 4 minutes ago.

"I'm here!_"_ Lauren typed back in a rush. She added, "Sorry. Got interrupted."

"happens to us a lot," Bo wrote back. Lauren laughed and looked up at the ceiling. Bo could be so irresistible when she was flirting. Lauren didn't usually like to be fussed over, but, on Bo, the caretaker persona was more than endearing.

"what are you doing now?" Bo typed again, since Lauren hadn't answered her before.

Lauren blew a blonde hair out of her face. She had left that question hanging between them. She sighed. It wasn't her style to lie when confronted with a direct question. She had always been honest with Bo, and she wasn't about to change that.

"Promised to meet Dev," Lauren answered. There was a long pause.

"can I call you later?" Bo wrote back, finally.

"Of course," Lauren typed. "I would like that."

If it didn't hurt so damn much, Lauren might have smiled at her situation. Never in her life would she have imagined being in a position to choose between two beautiful women, both of whom wanted her. She was staring distantly at the wall on the opposite side of the room when her phone made another sound. She looked down and chuckled.

Bo's response was a winking smiley-face.

Lauren laughed out loud. She couldn't help it.

Didn't Bo know that succubi weren't support to court girls with smiley-faces? Sometimes Bo seemed even more human than Lauren was allowed to be. The succubus defied so many preconceptions Lauren had about Fae, she couldn't begin to list them all.

She smiled at the little icon, recalling Bo's worried face from earlier that day. "Gotta go. Talk to you later," she wrote. Abandoning her reserve, she also added a smiley face so that Bo wouldn't worry. She laughed again when Bo sent another winking smile back.

Lauren re-read the string of messages for half a minute, then tucked her phone into a pocket, swung her legs over the side of the cot, and sprang to her feet. Swallowing her emotions, she quickly pulled on her lab coat, grabbed her doctor's bag from beside her desk, and jogged down the hall to The Ash's quarters.

One quick stop and she would be on her way to meeting Dev, and to disentangling the knot that had been thickening around her heart all day.


	9. Chapter 9

[_Author__'__s_ _Note_: Thanks to everyone for reading my story. It's been a wild and fun ride, and I've appreciated all of your feedback. There's no telling what turns Bo and Lauren's story will take on the show, (GAH!), but I've enjoyed imagining a story of my own. Hope you have enjoyed it too. And now, without further ado, I give you…]

**Part 9**

"Whoa, way to go Dr. Hotpants!" Kenzi rooted at the bar in the Dal. She leaned off of her stool to clap Bo on the shoulder. "So it turns out Dr. freeze is actually Dr. _fox_. Gotta say. I did not see that coming."

"Will you please dial it down, Kenz?" Bo pleaded. She surveyed the room to see if anyone was looking at them.

"What?" the younger woman scoffed, unaffected by Bo's concern. She put her hand over her heart, overplaying her earnestness. "I am legit shocked here. This shit is freakier than the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Atlanta combined. And, might I add, that is some freaky, freaky shit. Who knew lady-killers could come in the buttoned-down, baking variety?"

Bo stopped. "You think she bakes?"

"Oh. Definitely."

Bo smiled a little, picturing Lauren in an apron in the kitchen spooning batter into a cupcake pan. That might be nice, she thought. Then shook her head. "Kenzi!" she yelled. "That's really not the point."

"You're right!" Kenzi agreed, throwing up her hands. She wiped her mouth and threw back a shot of some kind of liquor that only Trick could pronounce. Her mouth puckered, but she managed to swallow, barely. "The point is: This _new_ doctor chick is totally horning in on _your_ doctor chick."

"So…." Bo started.

"So. _Bo_." Kenzi put her hands on her best friend's shoulders. "If you want Lauren, you have to get on your horse and go after her. Go busting in like John Wayne and all that." She pretended to shoot two revolvers from her hips. Bo didn't laugh. "Or, like a succu-sexier Lara Croft?" She jutted out her chest and made machine gun noises. Still no response from Bo.

"Listen," the Kenzi said, her expression softening. "This is something we humans have to do all the time. You have to go after what you want. _Compete_. If someone else has the hots for your girl, you have to fight for her. There're like a million songs about this! Although most of them are totally shitty.

Seriously, though. You have to let Lauren know you still wanna bow-chicka-wow-wow. Otherwise, there's no reason for her not to go all Branjolina and run from domestic bliss with you into the arms of a woman who will talk her into adopting a thousand kids from the other side of the world."

Bo stared at her sidekick and most trusted friend, considering. "But. What do I have to offer her that this other chick can't give her? I mean, Dev is a doctor and all that. And probably lives in a house with _walls_."

"What?" Kenzi retorted. "Have you _seen_ you?" Kenzi turned back toward the bar, rolling her now empty shot glass over in her hands.

"Look," Kenzi sighed, leveling. Bo straightened up and looked at her. Kenzi's voice was more serious than Bo had ever heard it.

"Lauren is always healing and doing her science thing, right? That's what she does. And she's all tight-assed about it and I have made fun of her for that. In the past." She rolled her eyes. "But you know. It's actually pretty cool- -until it goes too far. I've seen what happens to people like her if they don't have someone watching their backs. They care so much about other people, they're willing to give everything- -sometimes too much.

Bo. Lauren listens to you. She trusts you. You could convince her to let someone else take care of her for once."

Bo looked at Kenzi and the brunette's eyes sparkled. "Kenz," she said. "That might be the sweetest thing I've ever heard you say."

"Yeah, well. It's the Blither- -whatever that was called." She looked at her glass, suddenly deciding she needed a refill. She couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth. More alcohol seemed like a very good idea.

Bo stood up and kissed Kenzi's cheek.

Kenzi rolled her eyes again, but smiled. "Mother trucker," she muttered to herself, watching Bo stand up beside her. She could forgive her best friend for getting her ass killed, but she didn't know if she would ever forgive Bo for making her into a big softie.

Surveying the room, Bo spotted Hale sifting through the crowd and the wheels in her head started turning. "Come on," she said to Kenzi. "I have a plan."

xxxx xxxx xxxx

The moon was high overhead as Lauren made her way up the walk to Devany's bed and breakfast. She checked her cell phone for messages one more time before tucking it into the pocket of her blue leather jacket.

Lauren had instructed her lab assistants to call her if there was any change in The Ash's status. His respiratory system was still severely damaged and, discouragingly, he showed no signs that his condition might improve anytime soon. If she didn't find a successful treatment for him, Lauren knew The Light Fae elders could decide to replace him. And chances were, whoever they selected in that scenario would not be as lenient as their current leader.

Lauren paused on the sidewalk and looked up at the darkened sky. Although she couldn't escape Fae politics, they weren't the first thing on her mind right now, understandably. She tugged the bottom of her shirt down to smooth out the wrinkles in the fabric and ran her hands over her jacket sleeves, recognizing the familiar jitters tingling in her fingers. Devany was waiting for her. She should go.

Inside the inn, Lauren climbed a flight of stairs and turned down a hallway toward Devany's room, where they had agreed to meet. She took a deep breath to calm herself before lifting her hand to knock gently on the door.

It opened within seconds and there, in front of Lauren, was Devany. The police detective looked stunning, her auburn hair down around her shoulders. She was dressed in black slacks, a white blouse, and a vest, and Lauren thrilled at the sight of her. The blonde doctor bit her lip uncertainly.

Dev's grey eyes glimmered as she led Lauren into the room, which had a double bed on the far side and a little sofa and coffee table near the entryway. When they reached the center of the room, Devany turned toward Lauren, studying her face.

Lauren felt vulnerable under the scrupulous gaze of the medical examiner, but she stayed still, her breath constricted in her chest.

They stood there for a good minute, as timid as teenagers, until Devany sighed quietly and took a purposeful step toward Lauren. Now her feet were between Lauren's and their foreheads were centimetres apart. Slowly, Lauren exhaled and opened her arms.

As if resuming a familiar dance, Devany fell into Lauren's open arms and wrapped her arms tightly around Lauren's waist. "Ohh," she shuddered into the blonde's shoulder. "Lauren. I missed you so much."

Lauren felt goosebumps rise on her arms at the sound of Devany's voice so close to her ear. She combed her fingers through long strands of red hair, encouraging Dev to relax against her. "It's okay," she whispered. "It's okay," she repeated.

Devany lifted her head and stepped back so she could see Lauren's face again. Slowly, she traced Lauren's cheekbones with her fingertips, then reached down to grasp Lauren's hands, smoothing her thumbs gently over the knuckles. She smiled when Lauren's eyes closed at the familiar gesture. Overcome by the sight of her former love responding to her touch, Devany couldn't help herself.

Before Lauren knew what was happening, Dev was kissing her with the intensity of a sudden rainstorm. The taste of Devany's mouth against hers, urgent and familiar, drew a deep moan from Lauren's throat. Dev had told her once that the sounds she made when they kissed made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on-end. Lauren pressed her hand against the nape of Dev's neck, pressing against the soft skin there. She wondered if Dev still felt that way. God, it had been so long since their last kiss.

Devany ran her tongue along Lauren's bottom lip to encourage Lauren to deepen the kiss. She opened her mouth and Lauren did too, humming softly. She felt Lauren's tongue move elegantly against hers, and Dev reached down and wrapped her arms more tightly around Lauren so she could walk them over to the bed.

Lauren managed to slip off her own jacket and unbutton the first few buttons of her shirt before Dev pulled her down onto the comforter and straddled her thighs. She was struck by a wave of heat as Dev settled her full weight against her hips and leaned over her to whisper in her ear.

"Lauren," Dev said, in a tone that was decidedly possessive.

Lauren arched up reflexively at the sound of her name and a jolt of anticipation coursed through her; but, distantly, she felt a wave of guilt swell and break inside too. It felt to Lauren as though Dev was saying her name to reclaim her, and Lauren's conscious mind protested.

In her heightened state of awareness, Lauren felt the coldness of the metal pendant resting against her collarbone, which marked her as Light Fae property. An unwelcome pang of self-consciousness accompanied her thoughts about the amulet, which had been exposed by her unbuttoned shirt. Before she could stop it, her mind called up the words that Bo had whispered to her only a few months ago: "Nobody owns you."

Nobody owns you, Bo had said. Lauren could picture the succubus' brown hair fanning out onto the sheets beneath them as she made the declaration, her eyes glistening with emotion. Lauren had repeated those words to herself a thousand times over, and she did it again now. Nobody owns you, she recited in her mind, and her voice was joined by Bo's.

Lauren rocketed back to the present when she realised that Devany had stopped kissing her. When she opened her eyes, which had been squeezed shut, she saw the redhead hovering above her expectantly. Dev had said something.

"What?" Lauren asked, reaching up to brush a strand of hair out of Devany's face.

"Your necklace," Dev repeated. "I want you take it off."

Laughing, Lauren encouraged the progress of Dev's hand as it trailed down her side. "Isn't there something else you'd rather take off instead?" she offered suggestively. It had been so long since she had been touched like this, with the familiarity of a long-time lover. She was practically burning for direct contact.

Dev looked decidedly annoyed by Lauren's response, which Lauren thought was strange. Anger was an emotion she had rarely seen Devany express, and never toward her. But the longer Lauren hesitated, the more unfamiliar Devany's expression became, as if a dark cloud had settled over her features.

"What?" Devany responded agitatedly.

"Why do you want- -"

"Just take it off," Devany said, interrupting. Her tone was desperate, bordering on overly-seductive. "I want you," she purred, sucking one of Lauren's fingers into her mouth.

Lauren felt a surge of anticipation rush through her at the feeling of Dev's teeth scraping over her fingertip, but something wasn't right. She tried to guide Dev's head to her chest so she could hold her there for a moment, but Dev recoiled fearfully.

"What's wrong?" Lauren asked. "What- -" she started to say again, but she was cut off by the sound of heavy footfalls in the hallway and the door to the room swinging open. Dear god. They hadn't locked it.

"Lauren!" a familiar voice called out.

"What the hell- -" Dev shouted, turning to identify the intruder. When she saw the brunette she'd met that morning in the Fae Labs parking lot, her anger plummeted over the edge. Dev leapt off of Lauren, eyes glinting with a toxic mix of fear and infuriation. "No," she said. "Not _you_."

"Bo!" Lauren shouted. "What are you doing?"

The succubus' eyes flashed blue as she opened her mouth to answer, but Devany didn't give her the chance. Advancing quickly, Dev lunged at Bo, kicking her hard in the stomach.

"Stop!" Lauren yelled. She jumped up from the bed and ran toward them, grabbing Dev from behind to restrain her before the police doctor could deliver a follow-up punch, but Dev easily out-muscled her. "How?" Lauren asked, looking bewilderedly at Bo, who was lying doubled-over on the floor. Bo was young, and relatively untrained, but still, she should have been able to hold her own against a human. Dev shook Lauren off of her and targeted Bo again with her eyes, getting ready to charge.

"Bo!," Kenzi shouted, rushing into the room with Hale at her heels. She launched herself at Dev, who was scowling at a shocked and frightened succubus lying on the floor. Kenzi could tell that Bo was hurt in more ways than one, although she was trying not to show it.

Kenzi's leap was off the mark, but it didn't matter, because Lauren grabbed Dev and leaned all of her weight backwards, trying to drag her away from Bo. The maneuver proved effective- -not because she was able to move Dev with her body weight, but because of something else. When the pendant of her necklace made contact with Devany's back, Dev cursed. The amulet had burned her skin.

The forensic scientist whipped around to face Lauren. "Bitch!" she screamed. "I've waited too long for this!"

"What the _hell_?" Hale cursed from beside Kenzi, scrambling to separate Devany from Lauren. He rushed over, but couldn't get to them before Dev had kneed Lauren in the diaphragm, knocking the breath out of her. "What the hell are you doing?" he said, holding his arm out in front of Lauren, who was hunched over on the floor.

Lifting her head, Lauren tried to use the backs of Hale's shoes as a focal point as she struggled to regain her breath. Attend to the physical first, she ordered herself. She would deal with everything else later.

As she took in shallow breaths, Lauren was vaguely aware of Hale and Dev exchanging words above her head and Kenzi eyeing her with concern nearby. Then the heels of a pair of black boots entered her field of vision.

Lauren strained her neck to look up at Bo, who stood between her and Devany. Bo's skin was flushed, but she had otherwise regained her composure. Through a haze of aching pain, Lauren saw Bo reach around Hale to touch Devany's face and pulse her with energy. _No_, Lauren thought. But she couldn't do anything to stop her.

"Whatever you've been waiting to do to Lauren," Bo gritted icily, "you're going to have to keep waiting." Her eyes glowed blue and she drew a strand of chi from between Dev's lips.

Lauren's face tensed as she saw Dev sway on her feet, unable to escape Bo's influence. Dev's jaw was wrenched open as the succubus drew a steady stream of energy from her mouth. Lauren tried to look away, but she couldn't move. She wanted to stop Bo- -do something- -but fear and disbelief had locked her muscles and she had not fully recovered from Dev's knee to her chest.

"Bo…." Kenzi warned, realizing the succubus was close to taking more energy than was necessary.

Bo's forehead furrowed, concentrating, as she drew more and more of Devany's chi, disbelief pooling in her electric blue eyes. Devany should have been out of energy by now, but there seemed to be a second, untapped life force emanating weakly beneath the one she was draining.

Drawing the last of the first source in, Bo broke the connection, but did not release the woman whose face she held in her hands. "Not human," she coughed, struggling to stay on her feet. She let go of Dev's face and wheezed, and a wisp of black smoke flew out of Bo's mouth and dissipated into the air.

"Dev?" Hale said, coming closer. He grabbed the police doctor by her arms to steady her.

"…wasn't me," Dev sighed weakly, looking confusedly into Bo's eyes, which had returned from blue to brown. "Where's Lauren?" she asked, leaning over heavily in Bo's and Hale's grasp.

Lauren crawled to her knees and reached out to take Devany from Bo. Bo let her, reluctantly, and stood out of the way.

"Here I am," Lauren said. "I'm here."

Bo had the presence of mind to take an extra two steps back, although she stayed close enough to jump in between Dev and Lauren again if need be. She was caught between feeling like Lauren's protector and a trespasser. She coughed a few more times, trying to get the taste of the strange chi out of her system. Kenzi came over to stand beside her best friend and put a hand on Bo's shoulder.

Lauren had lowered Devany to the floor, using one hand to prop her up by her lower back, the other supporting her neck. "Student Doctor Lewis," Devany said softly.

Lauren tried to smile, but her lips and chin trembled. "Doctor now," she whispered, smoothing back Dev's hair. "What happened?"

"Dean Vanden Broek," Dev said. "…couldn't stop her. I'm sorry….."

"The dean?" Lauren repeated. "From med school?"

Hale and Kenzi exchanged confused glances.

"She…wanted revenge," Dev sputtered. "She was Dark Fae...failed to detain you for The Morrigan when your father- -" Dev let the sentence trail off when she saw Lauren's jaw tighten. "She used me."

"How?" Lauren asked.

Hale stepped forward. "I think we just found our dybbuk," he said. He bent down and turned to Lauren. "The dean was Dutch? She spoke Dutch?"

Lauren nodded.

Bo spoke quietly. "She possessed another kid in town, too," she explained, putting two and two together. "We solved that case earlier today."

"I helped," Kenzi added. "Dean whatshername really gets around. What's the deal with jumping all over town, though?"

Hale explained, since Lauren was clearly not in a state to answer. "A dybbuk can only travel inside a host's body. The dean needed another body to use as a vehicle to get to Devany. When she leaped into Dev's body, the other kid died. It's unusual, but when a dybbuk is especially powerful, it can snuff out the host's life completely."

"Didn't Trick say most dybbah- -whatevers skip town after they finish their earthly to-do lists?" Kenzi asked.

"But this one wasn't finished," Bo answered lowly. She put her hand on Lauren's shoulder.

Dev nodded weakly. "Good detectives," she said to Bo and Hale. She tried to smile at Hale, but she was too weak.

Bo didn't say anything else. She felt guilty for intruding on Dev's moment with Lauren for the third time that day. She didn't want to imagine what would have happened if she hadn't followed Kenzi's advice and come busting into Devany's room like John Wayne Croft…. But now, she had the urge to make herself scarce. She moved to give Lauren and Dev more space, but Lauren held Bo in place with her eyes. "Stay," was all the blonde said to her. Bo did.

Lauren turned back to the woman in her arms.

"I found you," Dev said, reaching for Lauren's open shirt collar, "thanks to you…H- -Haley." She tried to smile smugly about using the nickname she knew Hale despised, but she was too weak. She couldn't see it, but, next to her, the siren took off his hat and bowed his head.

"I missed you," Lauren told Dev, turning to press a kiss to one of Devany's hands. With her other hand, Dev was rolling the chain of Lauren's necklace in her fingers. Lauren followed her gaze to the pendant. "It marks me as protected by The Ash," she explained.

Dev nodded, her head tipping back as she partially lost consciousness.

Bo could see the last embers of Dev's chi flaring and extinguishing within her body, and her heart broke for Lauren. Hadn't Lauren been through enough already, losing her mother, her father, and her freedom? Did she really need this too?

Lauren guided the chain of her necklace out of Devany's hand and interlaced their fingers. Aware from experience that Dev had only moments left, she leaned into Dev's ear, so that only the gray-eyed scientist could hear her, and whispered to her.

Dev whispered something back, and Lauren turned her head to kiss Devany on the mouth.

Devany returned the kiss and looked up at Lauren. Then her body stilled, and Lauren reached down with trembling hands to close her eyes.

No one moved until Lauren started to shake with sobs, clinging to Devany's body in her arms. Kenzi excused herself, uncomfortable with the display of emotion she knew was coming, and slipped out into the hallway, Hale following after her.

Hale wanted to stay, but he needed to act quickly to make arrangements to cover up the Fae involvement in Devany's death. Also, to be honest with himself, he was concerned about Kenzi. He took out his badge and cell phone next to her and switched into detective mode.

Inside the room, Lauren wasn't aware that Hale and Kenzi had left, but she could feel the warmth of Bo's presence beside her. Turning away from Dev, she reached blindly for Bo with what little strength she could muster.

Bo gathered Lauren into her arms and held her there until Hale and several members of Lauren's medical team appeared with a stretcher. The siren used his powers to distract the innkeeper while Bo and Lauren and the medical team, with Devany's body in tow, slipped out the back.

Kenzi had called a cab for herself to The Dal. She texted Bo to tell her to take Lauren to the clubhouse and call if she needed anything. She told Bo to call her when she wanted her to come home.

Hale drove Bo and Lauren to Bo's house in his squad car. By the time they got there, an exhausted Lauren had collapsed against Bo in the back seat, asleep. Bo carried her inside, where she and Hale laid her down on the living room couch. Bo didn't want to presume. She tucked a blanket around Lauren and kissed Lauren's forehead before following Hale out to the front stoop, where she hugged him goodnight.

Hale assured Bo that he and Dyson would check on Kenzi at the Dal, and the succubus flashed him a grateful smile before jogging back into the house.

Inside, Lauren was sitting up on the couch with her knees to her chest. She turned toward the door when she heard Bo's footsteps behind her. The muscles of Lauren's face were taut as she fought hard to reign in her sadness, but Bo still thought she looked beautiful.

Bo wasn't sure what to do, but Lauren seemed to want her to sit. So Bo urged Lauren forward on the sofa and slid onto the couch behind her, making a space for Lauren's body between her knees. When Lauren sat back against her, Bo settled her arms around the doctor's waist.

Lauren shook periodically with sobs, and Bo tried to hold her steady. When Lauren finally stilled against her, Bo took a deep breath and leaned into her ear. "Stay the night with me," she said. "I can't let you go home alone like this."

Lauren wiped her eyes. "Okay," she sniffled. She turned in Bo's arms so they were facing each other.

Bo smiled sadly when she saw the trails of Lauren's tears on her cheeks and the redness of her eyes and nose. She brushed a lock of blonde hair behind Lauren's ear and slid her hands over Lauren's shoulders, gently massaging her neck. Lauren's eyes closed at Bo's touch, and a few holdout tears rolled down her face. Bo wiped them away with the back of her hand.

Lauren opened her eyes again when she felt Bo reach for her necklace. In spite of the fact that the pendant had burned the dybbuk's skin, it looked unaffected, just like she was supposed to, Lauren thought soberly, even after the many losses she had endured for the Light Fae. She had lost her family, her first love, her freedom. The only consolation she had- -the only consolation she'd had in years- -was here in front of her, the woman determined to take away her sadness.

Lauren looked down at The Ash's symbol, which Bo was holding against the flat of her palm, her knuckles touching Lauren's bare skin. Bo looked at the necklace, then at Lauren, considering. Lauren held her breath, unsure what would happen next.

"This protects you," Bo finally said after a pause. Lauren nodded uncertainly.

Lifting Lauren's hands so that she held them with both of hers, Bo looked at Lauren with an expression that was completely unguarded, like the one Lauren had looked at Bo with in the lab earlier that day.

"Let me protect you," Bo finished, searching Lauren's face for approval. "Please," she added, grasping more tightly to Lauren's hands.

The doctor gulped. For Lauren, it had been a very long day. Like all mornings since she had entered the Fae world, she had awoken with a sense of the unknown. Sometimes the feeling came with joy, other times with dread. On many mornings, for many years, Lauren had woken up wondering if she would ever see Devany again. Today, she awoke wondering when she would see Bo again after her battle with Aife. Never would Lauren have thought she would see both Devany _and_ Bo, and lose one of them again, in the same day.

Lauren couldn't think of any words to use to answer Bo. Her mind was too ragged for eloquence. So, slowly, she brought their mouths together and kissed Bo with all of the intensity she could summon. She broke away after a few seconds, but Bo brought Lauren's mouth back to hers and kissed her ferociously, flinging open the door to both of their hearts.

"Stay with me tonight?" Bo asked after she had released Lauren from the kiss. The hope on her face was so sweet that Lauren smiled in spite of herself.

"Please," Lauren said simply, holding onto Bo tightly when the Fae hugged her happily.

Bo shivered against Lauren as she held her and pulled the human doctor tighter against her. Today, she had gone from being unsure of her feelings for Lauren, to being sure and nearly losing her, to getting her back and ending up with the beautiful blonde in her arms.

Now Bo was sure about everything. They both had pasts they needed to reconcile, but she wanted Lauren, and she was certain that Lauren wanted her too. And Bo didn't plan to let go of Lauren any time soon.

THE END.


End file.
